��������

Pilot Program Aims to Improve Student Achievement and Teacher Preparation

Contacts: Joanne Carney, Chair, �������� Elementary Education Department, Joanne.Carney@wwu.edu; Bill Nutting, Washington Elementary School, bnutting@mv.k12.wa.us

��

BELLINGHAM – The Elementary Education Department at Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education will partner with Washington Elementary School in Mount Vernon in a pilot program intended to improve student achievement and better prepare current and future teachers and school administrators to meet the needs of diverse students, many of them English language learners.

“We are pleased, along with Washington Elementary, to be one of the sites to explore how authentic and productive collaborations with K-12 schools might be enacted,” said Woodring College Dean Francisco Rios. “In a very real sense, we will be one of the leaders in the state in creating innovative partnerships in pursuit of learning for both students and education professionals.”

Western, which was one of only three statewide chosen for funding, will receive $425,680 over the next year for program planning via the Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) grant, which is administered by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Professional Educator Standards Board.

Mount Vernon School District Superintendent Carl Bruner said, “Washington Elementary is in a strong position to benefit from this initiative.�� We appreciate Woodring’s interest in our school district and know our students will be the ultimate beneficiaries of our work together.”

��The CSIS project was funded by the Legislature as a way to create pilot programs whereby colleges of education partner with elementary schools that serve at-risk and low-achieving students to accelerate student achievement and deepen the knowledge and skills of current and future educators.�� This will be achieved, in part, by building connections to families and drawing upon other community resources to benefit students.

“Washington Elementary School is honored and excited to partner with ��������’s Woodring College of Education on the CSIS grant. I know our students, families and staff members will benefit from this unique collaboration,” said Washington Elementary School Principal Bill Nutting.

Western’s proposal calls for teams of interns from a number of Woodring College and �������� professional programs (Elementary Education, school principal, school counselor, and Human Services) to work closely in the school with collaborating teachers, college faculty, administrators, paraeducators and community members to meet the needs of students in a holistic way. They will develop a needs assessment and five-year plan for innovation and success. Implementation of the program will be dependent on continued state funding.

“We are eager to begin working on this collaborative project. It has exciting potential to benefit students in the Mount Vernon School District as well as those in a number of professional preparation programs at ��������,” said Joanne Carney, chair of Western’s�� Elementary Education Department. “This is a way for us to enact Woodring College’s mission to foster community relationships and a culture of learning that advances knowledge, embraces diversity and promotes social justice.”

For more information about Washington Elementary School see:

Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education is recognized throughout Washington, and beyond, as a leader in the development and implementation of programs that prepare outstanding teachers, from early childhood to adult education; educational administration leaders; human services professionals; and rehabilitation counselors. For more information please see